Page 25 of Cross the Line
"I did." I kept my focus on the road, palms at ten and two. "Hypervigilance. Rehearsed excuses. Minimizing. She's been doing it a long time."
A nod. His usual performance energy was subdued. "The bruise pattern on her wrist was consistent with someone grabbing her. Four fingers, one thumb." He demonstrated on his own wrist. His fingers curled around bone. "And it wasn't the only one. Her sleeve slipped when she reached for her tea. Older bruises underneath."
A brief glance across at him. His observation skills were sharper than I'd given him credit for. "You noticed a lot."
"I notice everything." Quiet. Then, with a ghost of his usual smirk. "Even when people think I'm just fixing my hair."
I didn't respond to the bait. I focused on what we'd learned. "The messages on Min's computer concern me. The pattern matches predatory grooming, but without the usual sexual component."
"You think this older_bro person was targeting him?" He shifted in his seat and angled toward me. "For what purpose?"
"Unclear." Red light. Raindrops raced down the windshield. "But the timing is suspicious. Communications escalated over three weeks, ending in Min's disappearance."
Silence stretched between us for a moment. "Maybe. But something felt off about it. The messages didn't read like a predator." His fingers tapped against a knee. Thinking. "More like... someone who recognized what was happening and wanted to help."
Green light. I accelerated carefully on wet asphalt.
"That's a dangerous assumption. Perceived altruism is a common manipulation tactic. 'I just want to help you' precedes 'now you owe me' more often than not."
"I know that." A slight edge in his words. "But there was no meeting arrangement. No 'come to me' directive. Just encouragement to find somewhere safe."
His read matched my own uncomfortable conclusion. I didn't like the parallel.
"The GPS data puts his last login near Yonge-Dundas. Several gaming cafés in that area. We'll need to check security footage."
"And the youth shelters." A natural addition. "If he was researching them, he might have gone to one."
"Possible." I turned toward the station. The wipers fought the increasing downpour. "But those searches were from weeks ago. Most recent activity suggests he was planning to hide somewhere temporary first."
A slow nod. "If I were a scared kid running from that situation, I'd want somewhere anonymous. Somewhere I could blend in while figuring out next steps."
The insight struck me as unusually perceptive. Another glance. I noted the tension in his jaw, the distant look. Not for the first time today, I wondered what experiences had shaped him underneath all that surface charm.
"24-hour gaming cafés would fit that profile. Open all night. Full of teenagers. No questions asked as long as you pay."
"And the nearest one to the GPS ping is just blocks from the Square. We should start there."
I nodded and turned into the station parking lot. "First, we need to log what we found and alert the team. If this older_bro is a predator, there may be other victims."
"And if he's not?"
"Then Min is still a missing minor potentially in danger." I killed the engine but didn't move to exit. Rain drummed steadily on the roof. A bubble of isolation around us. "Either way, we need to find him."
He hovered over the door handle. Paused. Turned back. "You think the stepfather hurt him. That's why he ran."
I met his eyes. "What I think doesn't matter. The evidence will tell us what happened."
"Bullshit." Soft. "You saw exactly what I did in that apartment. A frightened woman. An angry man with control issues. A teenager who disappeared right after something happened that made staying impossible."
His read was uncomfortably accurate. I broke eye contact first.
He sees too much.
"We follow the evidence." I repeated my position and pushed the door open. Rain immediately soaked my shoulders. "Everything else is speculation."
But as we walked toward the station, I couldn't shake the feeling that he'd seen straight through me. To something I didn't want named.
I recognized Min's desperation all too well.
